Learning From the Intelligence Around Us
Nature is full of problem-solvers, such as a gliding seabird scanning for fish that then precisely lands on a flexible tree branch. In this talk, I’ll reframe intelligence as an embodied and resource-driven strategy rather than a point along a single linear scale. I’ll ground this idea in our lab’s bio-informed studies of bird perching flight, sharing results from free-flight trajectories, wind tunnel experiments, and flight dynamics modeling. These studies will be linked back to how they support the development of autonomous and intelligent uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs). I will also introduce our newly completed Bird Flight Research Center and discuss opportunities for future research merging biological and engineered flight out of this one-of-a-kind facility.
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- Starts 20 August 2026 05:00 AM UTC
- Ends 14 October 2026 07:00 PM UTC
- No Admission Charge
Speakers
Christina Harvey
Biography:
Dr. Christina Harvey is an Assistant Professor in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at UC Davis, where she leads the Biologically Informed Research and Design (BIRD) lab. Her group studies how, when, and why flying animals adjust to their environment with the goal of improving the maneuverability and adaptability of future uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) as well as advancing our fundamental understanding of biological flight. She is a 2023 Packard Fellow and 2021 Amelia Earhart Fellow. She holds a PhD in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Michigan, a M.Sc. in Zoology from the University of British Columbia and a B.Eng. in Mechanical Engineering from McGill University.
Address:United States